The Iranian capital’s sky has gone hazy again with a suffocating blanket of smog falling over Tehran and the urban officials’ only response was to close primary schools and kindergartens.
Earlier this month, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi had wistfully said Tehran’s only way out of the current crisis is to hope for the helping hand of Nature.
“If wind were to blow our way, the situation would improve,” he said.
This time, Iran Meteorological Organization is expecting air movements and rainfall to do the same. The lack of an action plan to reduce air pollution is obvious.
Air Quality Index in Tehran on Wednesday hovered around 140, marking the day as unhealthy for sensitive groups, and slightly lower than being unhealthy for all.
Data published by Tehran Air Quality Control Company on its website show that the index was in the region of 101-150 for five days to Wednesday.
The index classifies conditions according to a measure of polluting matters: good (0-50), moderate (51-100), unhealthy for sensitive groups (101-150), unhealthy (151-200), very unhealthy (201-300) and hazardous (301-500).
As early as mid-November, the index breached the 100 threshold and in many areas in Tehran, toxic pollutants topped 150.
At the time, primary schools and kindergartens were also closed for a few days in Tehran, Shahr-e-Rey, Pakdasht, Pishva, Varamin and Qarchak.
The density of toxic pollutants has been steadily increasing since mid-October, reaching levels considered dangerous for vulnerable citizens, including children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
The levels of toxic pollutants in Tehran’s air breached critical levels several times over the past few months and so far Tehran Municipality and the government have failed to implement any measure to address the crisis effectively.
Over the past few decades, as Tehran expands in all directions, mayor after mayor have failed to address the issue effectively.
They have failed to relocate some of the most polluting industries, such as cement and asphalt factories, out of the capital city.
Millions of people work and live in Tehran. They all need decent transportation. However, government and municipality coffers are lacking in funds when it comes to paying for upgrading or expanding public transportation services.
They also don’t have the means to extend loans to owners of dilapidated vehicles for replacing them with more efficient vehicles.
